According to rumormill, Apple will be shrinking the size of the dock connector in iPhone 5, company’s next generation of iPhone. This move will free up some space which Apple can then use for headphone jack, which will move to the bottom of the phone. The old connector took quite a bit of space and this change seems right from the perspective of Apple but if we see it from end users point of view, they’re not going to like this change and there’s a reason for that.
This change is going to frustrate loyal Apple consumers who have spent lots of money in purchasing accessories like dock charger, speakers docking station, iPod/iPhone car integration and more.
If this rumor comes true, then all these accessories can go obsolete which means consumers will need to shell out extra money to buy accessories for the newer iPhone.
There’s also a report that Apple will produce an adapter that will enable iPhone 5 owners to use older accessories with the smaller 19-pin dock connector. We can’t say whether this adapter will be included in the box or whether it needs to be purchased as a separate accessory. If it needs to be purchased as a separate accessory, then we just hope that its priced something in the range of $10-$30, but not more than that and if it is included in the box, then we just have to say, ‘Thank you Apple’.
This change will prove to be a gold mine for accessory makers, who can now start manufacturing new accessories made specially for iPhone 5. But its not just about accessories, but what about hard to replace accessories like in car iPod integration, for example. Surely this is going to cause lot more headaches to end users because 20-pin connector is hardwired to cars itself and taking that out and then integrating new 19-pin connector won’t be that easy.
This means that even if the phone costs you some hundred bucks, the real cost of upgrading all the accessories will be lot more. Your iPod, iPad and older iPhone accessories will be rendered useless, thanks to the new smaller connector.
Apple still makes the choice to stick with their proprietary connector, when competitors are adopting micro-USB like adapters.
Do you think that iPhone 5 owners will be comfortable to purchase whole lot of new accessories? Or will they purchase new adapters that makes their older device compatible with the new device?
